How To Clear Your DNS Cache in Windows

Your DNS cache stores the locations (IP addresses) of webservers that contain pages which you have recently viewed. If the location of the web server changes before the entry in your DNS cache updates, you can no longer access the site.

If you encounter a large number of unjustified HTML 404 error codes , you may need to clear your DNS cache to force your computer to query the nameservers for the new DNS information.

Here is how to remove old and inaccurate DNS information that may result in 404 errors.

Windows 10

To reset the Windows 10 DNS resolver cache, perform the following steps:

Hold down the Windows key and press “R” to bring up the Run dialog box.

Type ipconfig /flushdns then press “Enter“. (be sure there is a space before the slash)

Windows® 8

To clear your DNS cache if you use Windows 8, perform the following steps:

Press Win+X to open the WinX Menu.

Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.

Run the following command:ipconfig /flushdns

If the command succeeded, the system returns the following mesage:
"Windows IP configuration successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache"

Windows 7

To clear your DNS cache if you use Windows 7, perform the following steps:

Click the Start button.

Enter cmd in the Start menu search text box.

Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.

Run the following command and press Enter:ipconfig /flushdns

If the command succeeds, the system returns the following output:
" Windows IP configuration successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache".

Windows XP, 2000, or Vista®

To clear your DNS cache if you use Windows XP, 2000, or Vista®, perform the following steps:

Click the Start button.

On the Start menu, click Run....
If you do not see the Run command in Vista, enter run in the Search bar.

Run the following command in the Run text box:ipconfig /flushdns

If the command succeeds, the system returns the following output:
Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.